The Hogwarts Express
by Mackenna
Summary: In which Aria Mackenzie meets the Marauders for the very first time. (A b-day present for Daiz)


**Title**: The Hogwarts Express

**Genre**: General

**Rating**: G

**Summary**: In which Aria Mackenzie (OC) meets the Marauders for the first time.

**Note:**_ A story for Daisy on her birthday._

Aria Mackenzie stared out the window, her hands and face pressed close upon the misting panes as the waving figures of her parents back on the platform grew smaller and smaller, soon disappearing around the bend.  Swallowing the lump of tears growing in her throat, she drew away, hastily wiping at her eyes.  She drew a shuddery breath, trying to prevent herself from wanting to jump off the train and run back to her parents, reminding herself of what lay ahead. 

            It was only this summer when she had received her hopeful and long awaited Hogwarts letter.  She could hardly wait to get one, each year always hoping that perhaps Hogwarts would accept her early.  Her earlier childhood years were filled with stories of the great magical school told by her parents, stories that were told over and over again at Aria's frequent request.  She would then play act them out, often getting into mischief as she would "accidentally" cause things to explode or transfigure (sometimes transfigure even herself!), very near to an unsuspecting Muggle.   At school, she would often be chided by her teachers for daydreaming, which was something she couldn't possibly help, as Aria's were naturally daydreamers.

            She couldn't wait until she got her very own wand, to be dressed in complete Hogwarts attire, exploring the grand castle, learning real magic, but most of all, she couldn't wait to have friends who truly understood her.  For though she was of pure wizard parentage, her parents brought her up mostly in the Muggle world, and sometimes she felt as if she did not belong there, even if she had lived there for most of her life.  She had good friends, yes, but there was always that lingering feeling…  She couldn't talk freely with her friends about the things that she was passionately interested in, namely Hogwarts and magic.

            She had been so excited when she received her letter by an official school owl that she was whooping, dancing, cheering, singing and squealing for hours on end until her mother good naturedly threatened to use Petrificus Totalus on her.  She remembered her father beaming with absolute pride, while Pedoinky, her owl, flew around in ecstatic circles, screeching in pure excitement.

            And now, here she was.

            Half grinning to herself at the memory, Aria felt immediately silly for wanting to leap off of the train and beg her parents to let her stay home.  This is what she dreamed of for so long.

            Tears gone, she sat herself down in the empty compartment, stroking a concerned Pedoinky's head, who hooted in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

            Smiling at Pedoinky, she slid her hand into her bag, pulling out a great, gilt edged book, one of her absolute favorites: a collection of Greek, Roman, Oriental, Celtic and Norse myth.  Tucking her feet underneath of her, she opened the familiar and comforting book, immersing herself into her favorite tales.

            Aria had only been reading for a couple minutes when the door of compartment slid open, accompanied by tentative knocking.  Looking up from her book, she saw a boy with thin, pale features, serious eyes, and wispy brown hair peering in rather shyly in an apologetic manner.

            "I'm sorry to disturb you, but all the other compartments are full.  Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked in a quiet voice.

            Aria shook her head, her eyes following the boy as he lugged in a bag, and sat down across from her.  Not wanting to be caught staring, she lowered her eyes to her page, continually peeking up to look at the boy.

            To her surprise, the boy fished around in his bag for a couple of moments, soon pulling out a large book.

            He was going to read? That?  Aria didn't know of very many people her age, besides herself, that enjoyed reading thick and grown up looking books. Leaning slightly to one side and cocking her head, Aria attempted to catch a glimpse of the title of the boy's book, blushing as he caught her eye.  

The boy also flushed, both of them looking quickly away as an awkward silence ensued.

Feeling that she had better say something (or else spend the rest of the trip in an uncomfortable silence), Aria gathered up all her courage, and began to speak.

"Is that The Lord of the Rings you're reading? That's one of my most favorite books."

The boy nodded, the corners of his mouth beginning to turn up in a grin.

"Mine too, I think I've read it only a billion times…but don't tell anyone that," he said, looking around guiltily.

Aria giggled at the look of mock seriousness upon the boys face.

"I won't…just as long as you promise to do the same 'cos I think I've read it as much times as you, if not more!"

The two grinned at one another, the awkwardness now broken.

"I'm Aria Mackenzie, and this is Pedoinky", she said, pointing to a now slumbering Pedoinky.

"Remus Lupin", he said, leaning over to shake her hand in a grown up fashion.

"Remus…" she said thoughtfully, "like in Romulus and Remus?"

Remus Lupin made a face, then smiled sheepishly.

"My mum loves Roman myth…I suppose I could have been named worse…like Vulcan."

Aria giggled again.

"My parents too. I'm sure if my mum hadn't come up with Aria, I'd be called Eowyn."

Remus laughed.

Aria grinned.  She hadn't felt this comfortable with someone in a long time.  She didn't know how exactly or why, but she felt as if Remus was the friend she had wanted for so long.  In just the few moments she had known him, she felt as if she had known him for years.

"So you're a first year?" Remus asked.

Aria nodded, her smile slowly fading as the fear that she had be harboring over the summer came out again.

"I am too", he said, looking down at his feet.  Looking back up again, Remus met her eyes with his serious gaze.

"It's okay to be scared. I am."

Aria looked sharply at Remus, surprised at how he seemed to know, and the genuine honesty he reflected.  He seemed almost more mature than his years.

Relaxing, she gave Remus a grateful look.

"Thank you…it's just…that…everything is going to be different…new…far from what I knew."

"I know", he said quietly, "I almost didn't want to get on the train today."

"Me too."

The two looked at one another in silent understanding, each comforted by the fact that they were not alone in this journey.

BANG!!!

Suddenly, the compartment door crashed open, and in tumbled two breathless boys, who quickly slammed the door shut so hard that the window panes rattled.

"Do you think he'll find us here?"

"Probably not…his nose is rather big after all."

"Probably'll get in the way."

The two boys smirked at one another, while Aria and Remus stared.

"Oh hello! Sorry to burst in on you---"

"It was rather rude---"

"But you see, there was this slimy git---"

"With a nose like a--- like a---"

"Picking on someone, so we---"

"With a nose like a---I can't describe it…"

"He was picking on this---"

"Hang on---where'd he go?"

The bespectacled boy with hair that stood in all directions stopped, a look of realization dawning upon his face.

"Oh no Sirius…"

The one named Sirius, the boy with shaggy dark hair and a lopsided grin, swiftly opened the compartment door, once again causing the window panes to shudder, flew out, looked down, then grinned, dragging something, or someone in.

"What happened?" the bespectacled boy asked, hands on hips.

The someone who was dragged in brushed themselves off, and pulled themselves into a sitting position.

"I fell…"

"Why didn't you get up?" the boy called Sirius asked.

"I---I---I thought maybe if I stayed down Snivellus wouldn't see me…"

The bespectacled boy snorted in laughter, but stopped, as if remembering something.

"Oh yes! As we were saying, we didn't mean to disturb you, but we needed means of escape, and that was here. James Potter, by the way", the boy said with a short bow.

The boy named Sirius grinned, also bowing, but in a very extravagant manner, bending over so low that his head nearly touched the ground, with the exaggerated waving of his hands.

"And the one, the only…Sirius Black!"

The boy Sirius dragged in, a chubby, fair haired boy, got to his feet, looking rather timid.

"I'm Peter…Peter Pettigrew", he said.

Aria grinned at the three, finding that she quite liked them.  James' and Sirius' energy was contagious, and Peter's timidness rather endearing.

"Aria Mackenzie. It's a pleasure!" she said.

"And I'm Remus Lupin."

The five looked around at each other, silent for a moment as they studied one another.

"Well then. You don't mind if we all share the compartment, do you?" James asked, plopping himself down next to Aria.

"Of course not."

"Good.  Cos I think we got kicked out of the last compartment."

Remus couldn't help but laugh, grinning as Sirius winked.

"Now, anyone up for a game of Exploding Snape?...er…Snap?"

The rest of the train ride, the five played the card game, often finding themselves in peals of laughter as an unfortunate person found his or herself singed by the randomly exploding cards.  They talked about themselves, their families, their hopes and excitement of Hogwarts, and ate heartily as the trolley lady came around.

Aria couldn't ever remember having this much fun. It looked like this year would be full of it. 

She caught Remus' eye again and smiled.

It was here. It was here.

She truly belonged.

_End_

_Happy Birthday Daiz!!!_


End file.
